When: 22.11.2025, 18:00-20:00
Where: Villa Vida Café, Linke Wienzeile 102 1060
Participation: Free – Sign up here
Please note: This event will be held in English
How has Black club culture shaped the sound, movement, and politics of the dancefloor?
How is it connected to working-class Black culture?
And what does it mean to claim club culture as a space of liberation in contemporary Europe?
This panel brings together Vienna-based Black artists and cultural workers active in the city’s club scene, in collaboration with the independent magazine oltreoceano.
This event revisits the foundations of club culture through a Black lens, tracing its origins in resistance, creativity, and community. It also reflects on how these foundations shape present and future European/Austrian club scenes, and discusses the experiences and challenges of creating and sustaining community amidst predominantly white spaces.
Moderation:
Kassandra Mona Steiner (she/her) – ORF Wien:
Kassandra Mona Steiner (she/her) was born in rural Austria to Austrian and Beninese heritage. Growing up in a predominantly white environment, she had few opportunities to explore her Blackness or cultural roots. Moving to Vienna at 18 became a key moment in reconnecting with her identity personally, professionally, and creatively.
In Vienna, Kassandra became involved in several media projects, including joining the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). At ORF Wien, she focuses on stories about diversity, culture, politics, and younger generations, while also exploring music journalism through social media.
Speakers
DJ Taff – Na Nang Club:
Na Nang Club is a non-profit event space in Vienna’s 17th district, active since 2016. Under DJ Taff’s leadership, it has become a key part of the multicultural music scene, hosting festivals, concerts, and cultural events that showcase African traditions — from music and crafts to fashion and literature. The club aims to enrich artistic and multicultural life, foster collaboration between Austria, Senegal, and Gambia, and support creative exchange across communities in Vienna and beyond.
Gawdesque (they/she) – Booster Club
Gawdesque (they/she) is a multihyphenate creative: a poet, DJ, aspiring event organiser and member of the DJ and skillsharing collective Booster Club. In June 2025, they organised their first event called Black TLC – an exhibition, bazaar, concert, poetry showcase and club night featuring creatives and cultural workers of the Black diaspora. The artist name "Gawdesque" honours the power of the creative spirit - the god-esque in us – and serves as a personal and collective affirmation of said spirit.
Solo (he/him) – Organizer of Events With BIPoC-dominated Teams:
Solo creates and holds spaces for intimate events, ranging from queer places of expression to sexy spaces of interaction. After having been part of the white-dominated techno collective hausgemacht, he now focuses on creating events with BIPoC-dominated teams.
Naomi Kelechi di Meo (she/her) – oltreoceano:
Naomi Kelechi Di Meo (she/her) was born in Brescia, Italy, to Nigerian, Ethiopian, Argentine, and Italian heritage. She holds a degree in Media and Information from the University of Amsterdam and a Master’s in Storytelling Arts from IULM University in Milan. Naomi is an independent writer and editor of oltreoceano, a platform exploring Blackness in Europe through a broad and critical cultural lens.
Passionate about writing, music, and politics, she is active in community organizing and political activism. Her work focuses on class, gender, and ethnicity, viewed through Marxist and postcolonial perspectives. Her writings have appeared in Vogue Italia, GRIOT Mag, Spaghettipolitics, Vice Italia, L’Espresso Settimanale, and C41 Magazine.
